26 June 2016

As an international relations scholar with a Wilsonian internationalist leaning, I watched the Brexit returns with a sinking heart as the gap widened in favor of Leave. I think it's a huge mistake for the UK, for Europe, and for the global order.

First of all, the UK did not vote to Leave; England and Wales did, but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to Remain. I view the specter of another Scottish referendum on independence with considerable alarm. While I think a border vote in Ireland is improbable due to too much history of sectarian strife, there's no reason why Ulster couldn't be independent of both the UK and the Irish Republic if it were an EU member. The UK might end up being only England and Wales, and they will have inflicted that on themselves.

At the same time, the Brexit vote was a very badly needed wakeup call to the eurocracy. Sweeping reform is needed and soon. Let's hear it for the reboot. Talk of preceding with even tighter integration now that the UK is leaving is unrealistic and would lead to other exits. It would be too much of a shock to the system. Adding all of the Eastern European members so rapidly has been enough of a shock, really too much if it has led to Brexit. Not that EU expansion into Eastern Europe was a bad move. It had to be done. It was the logical consequence of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But now is the time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and reassess the situation.

If Brexit has left the EU badly wounded, Frexit would be the coup de grace. The EU without the UK and France would leave Germany and a bunch of countries whose fear of German domination would motivate the dissolution of the EU. The genius of the European integration project, much of it motivated by Germany, is that Germany deliberately embedded itself in international institutions to make the inevitable postwar resurgence of its economy safe for other European states. Intertwining the German economy with the French and Italian economies was the best hope for peace. You don't hear too many mainstream German politicians whining about loss of sovereignty, et cetera, because they know the score: Germany occupies too large and too powerful a place in the heart of Europe for anyone to be comfortable about it having full sovereignty. Lord Acton's famous aphorism about NATO was that its purpose was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. The EU also serves to constrain Germany. Removing the constraints would be disastrously destabilizing. The damage that Brexit has done is to remove some constraints. Germany depended on the UK as a counterweight to its soft power within the EU.

But, I wonder whether Brexit is a done deal. Someone needs to pull the Article 50 trigger, and it's not clear who will do it or when that person will do it. There is the question of whether Parliament must approve such an action by the prime minister. The overwhelming majority of MPs oppose Brexit. The question is whether they would vote the will of the people or vote their personal convictions. In the play "1776," Dr. Lyman Hall remarks to the Continental Congress that Georgia is split down the middle on the question of independence from Britain: "The people are against it and I'm for it." He ponders the question of whether he owes the people only his industry in representing their desires or also his own experience and judgment. It's a question with which every politician must struggle. Going against the will of the majority is always a brave thing to do, and sometimes it is the right thing to do. The wisdom of the people's representative is the only insurance against the people's foolishness. That's where Robespierre went wrong, to his ultimate regret. If Westminster voted against pulling the Article 50 trigger, what would be the political blowback? A shade less than 52 percent voted to Leave. Of those, many are already experiencing voter's remorse and would not be sad to see their vote reversed by their MP, a small minority would be angry enough to vote against their MP in the next election, and the rest would just grumble. This would especially be true if the next few months were to be spent cutting a new deal to make remaining in the EU palatable to most Leavers. The UKIP campaigned primarily on the immigration issue. Fix that problem and take the wind out of the Leavers' sails. The dumbest thing for EU leaders to be saying is, "Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once!" And, speaking of the Scottish play, there is also the question of whether the Scottish Parliament can block Brexit.

Finally, the two-year period of exit negotiations specified by Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, together with the four months' delay before David Cameron's successor at Number 10 pulls the trigger. suggests that there is ample time to organize a second Brexit vote in the hope of reversing the first vote before that first vote can take any legal effect.

23 June 2016

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

22 June 2016

In my view, the answer to that question is self evident. It's one of the best cuisines on the planet, rivaling even Italian, but probably more diverse because India is so much larger than Italy. I daresay that it would take decades to properly explore the nuances of every state and district.

In a restaurant in San Rafael, California, I once ordered a vindaloo dish. The waiter asked if I wanted it made hot. Well of course I did, why else would anyone order a vindaloo dish? Then he asked me whether I wanted it "Indian hot" or "English hot." Which is hotter? "English hot," he informed me. Bloody limeys, always trying to outdo the colonials!

But the reason behind the English fascination for Indian food is also self evident. Just set a traditional English dish on the table alongside an authentic Indian dish. Nolo contendere, court adjourned (BANG). Some historians are of the opinion that the British, having first replicated India's textiles technology, took control of the region to forcibly reverse its industrialization and to reduce it to a supplier of raw cotton to the nascent British factories; India's industrial revolution was thus strangled in its cradle. Sure, but the food factor should not be ignored. Much of the expansion of the British Empire can be explained as a quest for a decent meal. Picture a mid-19th century tommy standing in a Madras street holding up a sign, "Will fight for food." It should be noted that the UK lost its ability to feed itself solely on domestic produce in the mid-19th century. Imagine losing interest in the national cuisine to the point that starvation became a plausible alternative. Explains a lot.

Like why, living in Tonga, not all that far from Fiji and its large minority of Indian descent, I have to import curries, chutneys, and marinades literally from halfway around the world: Manchester, UK. The best Indian restaurants may well be in England.

Yes, Fiji does export a curry powder to Tonga, but it's awfully bland. Despite possessing no skill whatsoever, I am confident that I could mix together some cumin, turmeric, coriander, garlic, and various peppers, and produce better results. On the evidence of Indo-Fijian curry. I would have to conclude that they have lost their culinary roots and have gone native Polynesian. No wonder the British granted Fiji its independence. Rather decent tea, however.

I have no wish to insult Polynesians, and I have considerable incentive not to, as I do live surrounded by a hundred thousand of them, and I would be quick to point out that Polynesians have many fine attributes, but worldwide outside of their native lands, Polynesian restaurants are as rare as English restaurants. There's a reason for that: no less than the UK, these are definitely NOT the Spice Islands. It is a point of some pride among Tongan that it is the only South Pacific kingdom which was never colonized. There's a reason for that, not one to be proud of: even British seamen didn't want to eat here, and turned with comparative enthusiasm to their hardtack. The most popular restaurant item in Tonga is Kentucky, their word for American southern fried chicken, but it's a pale imitation of Colonel Sanders. Dinner most fowl.

The English understood their culinary shortcomings early in their history. Historians propose unconvincing explanations as to why a small, impoverished, medieval, island kingdom chose to take on a larger, more populous, and more prosperous kingdom on the Continent in a Hundred Years' War that was as notable for its few victories as for its extreme duration. The government became so unpopular during this century-long foreign adventure that it led directly to the Wars of the Roses. Why did the House of Lancaster fight so desperately and for so long in so hopeless a cause, at the ultimate cost of being toppled by the Yorkists? Obviously, they were driven crazy by French food and they just had to grab for more of it. If you think reaching across the dinner table is bad manners, reaching across the Channel was un faux pas formidable. Nevertheless, several centuries later, the British got some satisfaction out of conquering Quebec; obviously for the cuisine, certainly not for the climate, eh?

In sum, the infamous English toffee-nose air of superiority over subhuman colonial peoples actually concealed a deep-seated inferiority complex, for which, quite predictably, they overcompensated; it was better to conquer for food than to beg for it.

16 June 2016

They end by finding something to die for because they found nothing to live for.
They throw away their lives because they could not give their lives to anyone.
Lonely in life, they take us with them into death, companions in eternity.
How few will recall that they ever smiled, yet how many still share our laughter.

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

Selection

Title

Performer

ReleaseYear

1

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Main Title / Arrival at Naboo

John Williams

1999

2

Dream Within a Dream

S.P.O.C.K

1999

3

Of A Dream

Kurt Swinghammer

1999

4

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Duel of the Fates

John Williams

1999

5

Ночами долго курят астрономы
Long Nights Astronomers Smoking

Алексей Брунов
Aleksej Brunov

1999

6

Fly Me to the Moon

Amanda Wood

1999

7

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Anakin's Theme

John Williams

1999

8

Space

Antony DeGennaro

1999

9

STS-96 - Launch

Mission Audio

1999

10

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - The Arrival at Tatooine / The Flag Parade

John Williams

1999

11

Orbit

Berklee College of Music

1999

12

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - The High Council Meeting and Qui-Gon's Funeral

John Williams

1999

13

Jupiter-6

Brent Haeseker

1999

14

Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Augie's Great Municipal Band - End Credits

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

05 June 2016

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

Selection

Title

Performer

ReleaseYear

1

Star Trek Voyager 808's in Space

Bass Tube

1998

2

Free Enterprise - Satellite

Lauren Christy

1998

3

Theme From Star Trek

Hal Leonard

1998

4

From the Earth to the Moon - Extended Main Theme

Michael Kamen

1998

5

Satellite

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

1998

6

From the Earth to the Moon - End Titles

Michael Kamen

1998

7

STS-95 - Launch

Mission Audio

1998

8

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Eve of the War (extended instrumental)

Jeff Wayne

1998

9

Galactic

String Cheese Incident

1998

10

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Earth Under the Martians (extended instrumental)

Jeff Wayne

1998

11

Astronaut

Sum 41

1998

12

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Spirit of Man (extended instrumental)

Jeff Wayne

1998

13

Satellite

Workbench

1998

14

Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - Brave New World (extended instrumental)

04 June 2016

*The "sixpack" was Bette's first litter born under the Sione P. Tongilava house in Fanga, Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Bette was still feral and found food where she could while her babies sucked her down to skin and bones. When she regurgitated some bad food, her puppies ate it and sickened. Denzel and Jadzia survived, but greatly missed are Grilka, Peter, Rex, and 'Ono.

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

03 June 2016

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

02 June 2016

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.

About Me

Thomas Gangale holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in international relations from San Francisco State University. He was both an airman and an officer in the US Air Force, serving as an air traffic controller and an F-4 weapon systems officer. Also while on active duty, he served on the technical management teams of several satellite projects of the highest national priority involving national technical means of verification of strategic arms control agreements, as well as a Strategic Defense Initiative satellite program and two Space Shuttle payloads (STS-4 and STS-39). He has published numerous articles in aerospace and social science journals, has presented papers at several aerospace symposia, has written opinion editorials in major metropolitan newspapers, and has appeared as a guest on radio talk shows. He is a leading authority on timekeeping systems for other planets, and is the inventor of a class of orbits that will be essential to communication between Earth and crews in the vicinity of Mars. He is the author of the American Plan for reforming the presidential nomination process.